Questions for completing and beginning the year

David Allen has developed this set of questions for completing one year and beginning the next year. Enjoy!

What have you actually finished, completed, and accomplished? If you haven’t made a list in the last year, I would highly recommend that you give yourself a treat and review the year that just passed and look forward to the year ahead.

When I go through these kinds of questions I like to consider my answers in several areas:

Physical
Emotional
Mental
Spiritual
Financial
Family
Community Service
Fun / creativity / recreation

Completing and remembering last year

  • Review the list of all completed projects.
  • What was your biggest triumph in 2011?
  • What was the smartest decision you made in 2011?
  • What one word best sums up and describes your 2011 experience?
  • What was the greatest lesson you learned in 2011?
  • What was the most loving service you performed in 2011?
  • What is your biggest piece of unfinished business in 2011?
  • What are you most happy about completing in 2011?
  • Who were the three people that had the greatest impact on your life in 2011?
  • What was the biggest risk you took in 2011?
  • What was the biggest surprise in 2011?
  • What important relationship improved the most in 2011?
  • What compliment would you like to have received in 2011?
  • What compliment would you like to have given in 2011?
  • What else do you need to do or say to be complete with 2011?

Creating the new year

  • What would you like to be your biggest triumph in 2012?
  • What advice would you like to give yourself in 2012?
  • What is the major effort you are planning to improve your financial results in 2012?
  • What would you be most happy about completing in 2012?
  • What major indulgence are you willing to experience in 2012?
  • What would you most like to change about yourself in 2012?
  • What are you looking forward to learning in 2012?
  • What do you think your biggest risk will be in 2012?
  • What about your work, are you most committed to changing and improving in 2012?
  • What is one as yet undeveloped talent you are willing to explore in 2012?
  • What brings you the most joy and how are you going to do or have more of that in 2012?
  • Who or what, other than yourself, are you most committed to loving and serving in 2012?
  • What one word would you like to have as your theme in 2012?

Join the Conversation

4 Comments

  1. I finally sat down to answer these questions and found this exercise to be very helpful. But I was hoping someone could clarify the question “What major indulgence are you willing to experience in 2012?”

  2. Hi LB,

    What does indulgence mean to you? Start there. Frivolous? Fun? Risky? Gluttonous?

    -Kelly

  3. These are some great questions. I review goals each month and sometimes every week. So I’m going to make sure to answer these ASAP. Even if I’ve already answered them.

  4. Maybe it’s the wave of the future? Content in axghence for your e-mail address. With so many print publications going out of business, or going only online, it will be interesting to see how this venture plays out.

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